Yesterday we took a look at the top ten sports stories that made headlines nationally. Today we look at the stories from 2011 from here in Wisconsin.

Of course, 2011, as has been well documented, was statistically the greatest year in Wisconsin sports history. Never before has there been a major sports championship, another of the state's major professional teams come within two games of a championship round, two minor league sports championships, two Sweet 16 appearances, and the greatest amateur tournament of its sport in the world, all sandwiched around back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances.

My top ten sports stories from the state of Wisconsin:

10. UW-Whitewater wins its third consecutive NCAA Division III football championship. The most staggering statistic in college sports right now involves Whitewater head coach Lance Liepold. Since taking over the Warhawks program in 2007, Liepold has more National Championships (four) than losses (three). His mark of 72-3 is good for a staggering 96.0 winning percentage. In addition, Whitewater has won 45 consecutive games; their last loss coming in the 2008 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl against their perennial foes in that game, Mount Union. If Liepold's name is not in the running for the vacant Wisconsin offensive coordinator position, it should be. Liepold was on the Badgers staff in 1993 for their first Rose Bowl win, and was on the staff at Nebraska when the Cornhuskers played for the National Championship in 2001.

9. The Bucks failed to live up to their own expectations. The 2010-11 season was a frustrating mess for the Milwaukee Bucks. One year removed from the "Fear the Deer" madness of 2009-10, injuries and ineffectiveness killed whatever momentum and goodwill the Bucks had built with their fans. Brandon Jennings missed 19 games with a broken foot and Andrew Bogut never regained full motion in his right arm after it was shattered in a freak injury late in the previous season. Couple that with terribly disappointing seasons from newcomer Corey Maggette and holdover John Salmons, and once again Milwaukee failed to reach the postseason. If there is one silver lining to the NBA lockout, it's that it game Bogut a little more time to heal; plus general manager John Hammond's itchy trigger finger jettisoned the bad eggs and replaced them with a new set of players like Stephen Jackson and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. The hope is the new mix of players will mesh better than last year's.

8. The sexual assault scandal/investigation at Marquette. The Jesuit school really stepped in it last winter when they failed to report to Milwaukee police in a timely manner that four student-athletes were accused of sexually assaulting a woman at Humphrey Hall during a Halloween party. It was only after the four were cleared by the school that the woman filed a complaint to the MPD because she felt they got preferential treatment. In addition, another student-athlete was accused of sexually assaulting a woman Feb. 27. This incident was not reported (as required under Wisconsin state law) by the university to Milwaukee police at all; the woman herself reported it more than a month later because the school was no help to her. Since the incidents became public, athletic director Steve Cottingham resigned and the university is being investigated for their failures to report by the U.S. Department of Education.

7. Wisconsin and Marquette both reach the Sweet 16. Long criticized for the school's failure to make it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, Marquette (as the No. 11 seed in the East Regional) pulled off two impressive upsets. First, they eliminated perennial Sweet 16 participant Xavier (the No. 6 seed) 66-55. Two nights later, the Golden Eagles bounced No. 3 seed Syracuse 66-62. The magic ride ended in the third round, however, when they lost to North Carolina 81-63. Meanwhile, the Badgers (playing as the No. 4 seed in the Southeast Regional) beat Belmont and Kansas State before falling to eventual national runner-up Butler 61-54. All in all, the Marquette run was certainly more fun and more unexpected; for the state rivals, it was a great backdrop for an incredible overall year in sports.

6. Ryan Braun wins the National League MVP Award. It is hard to believe that this story is as low as it is; it is a testament to how special 2011 was overall that just the fourth Brewers league MVP (and the first since 1989) can't rank any higher than sixth on the list of biggest local sports stories. Nevertheless, after Braun's spectacular campaign in where he hit .332 with 33 home runs and 111 RBI, Braun outdistanced runner-up Matt Kemp, who had similar numbers but played on a team (Los Angeles Dodgers) that never contended. Braun was also a finalist for the Gold Glove for leftfielders, a distinction few thought he was ever capable of. How he will fare without Prince Fielder and a cloud of suspicion (we'll get to that in a moment) in 2012 and beyond is a mystery. What Braun did in 2011 was spectacular.

5. The Badgers return to the Rose Bowl. It had been 11 long years since Wisconsin had made an appearance in Pasadena. After winning three times in eight years under Barry Alvarez in the 1990's, the Badgers football program had been in a bit of a Florida bowl game funk. Whereas the Outback, Champs Sports, and Capital One Bowls were all fine events, Wisconsin fans wanted more. In 2010 they got their wish – sort of. Favored by some (but not all) to control the tempo against unbeaten (but also untested) TCU, the Badgers were beaten on the first day of 2011, 21-19 when Scott Tolzien's two-point conversion attempt was batted down at the line of scrimmage. To try to avenge that loss, Wisconsin overcame heartbreaking losses in successive weeks on the road at Michigan State and Ohio State to earn another berth in the "Granddaddy of them All" on Jan. 2 vs. Oregon.

4. Aaron Rodgers has an MVP-caliber season. I know that in recent weeks there has been a groundswell of support for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees to be named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. Trying to both put my own homerism biases aside and to not denigrate Brees, if I had a vote it would go to Rodgers. Simply put, he has been the heart and soul of the defending Super Bowl Champions. With one week to go (knowing his playing time will be likely quite limited Sunday vs. Detroit), Rodgers has thrown for 45 touchdowns (first in the NFL) and 4,643 yards (third in the NFL), while throwing just six interceptions. Rodgers quarterback rating is 122.5, which if it holds would set a new NFL single-season record (breaking Peyton Manning's mark of 121.1 in 2004). Almost any other year and Brees would be a shoo-in. I not only think Rodgers should win the award, I believe he will rather handily.

3. Ryan Braun tests positive for...something. The news could not have been any more shocking. Newly minted MVP Ryan Braun, the poster child for everything that is right and good with baseball tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, according to ESPN's "Outside the Lines" program. If it had literally been anyone else in baseball the reaction would not have been so instantaneously overwhelming. The Braun camp reacted swiftly, saying the test had "highly unusual circumstances" surrounding it and that Braun looks forward to proving his innocence. Since that original ESPN report there has been rampant speculation as to what could have caused Braun's positive result, other than the PED in question. The most popular unsubstantiated rumor revolved around a certain sexually transmitted (yet common) disease. For many, it will be difficult to ever look at Braun the same way ever again, regardless of the outcome of his January appeal.

2. The Brewers win the NL-Central. It had been 29 years since the Brewers won their division. But, with 2011 being the final year for Prince Fielder to be under Brewers control, general manager Doug Melvin made an urgent push for the postseason by acquiring starting pitchers Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum during the off-season and reliever Francisco Rodriguez at the All-Star break. This past baseball season we were educated on the basics of "Plushdamentals," "Beast Mode," and "Staching." Ryan Braun's division-clinching home run on Sept. 23 was reminiscent of his blast three years earlier vs. the Cubs that won Milwaukee the Wild Card. Unfortunately, the Brewers ran out of steam just as the Cardinals were getting up a full head of it, but nevertheless Miller Park was the place to be in Milwaukee for six full months of the year.

1. The Packers win the Super Bowl. This one was a no-brainer. The entire Packers improbable playoff run was a roller coaster ride none of us wanted to get off of. In successive weeks and all away from Lambeau Field, the Packers had to knock off the No. 3 seed Philadelphia Eagles, the No. 1 seed Atlanta Falcons, and the No. 2 seed Chicago Bears. At 10-6, the Packers needed tiebreakers just to squeak into the playoffs in the first place; no one thought they could possibly advance past the first round, much less go all the way to Dallas. Even after they punched their ticket to the Super Bowl by grabbing permanent bragging rights from the Chicago Bears, few thought they would be able to beat the mini-dynasty that was the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers. Of course we all know how that turned out.

It also set the tone for what would be an unprecedented year of sports success. In addition to the top ten items listed above, the Milwaukee Wave won their fifth MISL title under the great Keith Tozer; The Milwaukee Panthers beat eventual NCAA runner-up Butler twice en route to the Horizon League regular season championship; Prince Fielder won MVP honors at baseball's All-Star Game in July; and Kelly Kraft won a thrilling U.S. Amateur golf tournament at Erin Hills.

It was certainly a year to remember. Now let's see if 2012 can top it.